All role cheat sheets
Cheat sheet: first-time actor
Your first week as an actor
Who to ask, what to bring, and the etiquette nobody explains.
If you're new
- Schedule question, running late, something wrong backstage? Ask the stage manager, not the director.Davidson
- Write everything down in pencil. Your blocking will change.
- When you hear "five minutes", say "thank you, five". It tells the stage manager you heard.
If you're a pro
- Worth sending to your first-timers before day one. It covers the questions they will not ask out loud.
- Lines due? Off-book practice lives in Line Runner.
Talk to these people first
- The stage manager. Check in, confirm your contact details and conflicts, and hand in your forms.Davidson
- The director, plus the music director and choreographer on a musical. Listen during table work, ask your character questions in rehearsal, and note the off-book date.
- The costume shop. Book your measurements and fittings, and flag clashes early.EmersonKent State
Do
- Read the whole play before day one, and read each scheduled scene several times before it is rehearsed.
- Arrive at least 5 minutes early and sign in on the callboard.IU South Bend
- Hand in your contract, emergency and allergy form, bio and conflicts. Find the exits, toilets and first aid.IU South BendLangham Court
- At the read-through, look up at your scene partners instead of down at the page.
- Say clearly what physical contact you are and are not comfortable with.
- Tell the stage manager the moment you know you will be late.
Don't
- Do not miss sign-in or turn up late without warning.IU South Bend
- No pen in a rented script, and no phone in your hand during rehearsal.Kent State
- Do not touch other people's props, and do not give other actors notes.
- Do not go barefoot until the floor has been checked, and never skip a fitting.Davidson
- Do not keep a food or material allergy to yourself. Tell the stage manager on day one.EmersonIU South Bend
What to bring
- Your script or score.
- Pencils with erasers, a highlighter and a notebook for notes and schedule changes.
- Clothes and closed shoes you can move in, any rehearsal skirt or shoes you were asked for, water and your calendar.Davidson
Other roles
How-tos for the same show
Tech week, hour by hourPaper tech to previews: who comes, what gets done, how long, and when to move on.Build a prompt bookWhat goes in the book, in what order, and how it runs tech and every show.School, community, pro and UK theatreWho calls the show, what the rules are and what everything is called, side by side.
Sources
Written in my own words from handbooks, guides and rulebooks I read for this suite. Tags beside each point show where it comes from.
- Davidson College Theatre, Stage Management Handbook
- Emerson Stage, Stage Manager's Handbook
- Indiana University South Bend, Stage Management Handbook
- Kent State University School of Theatre and Dance, Stage Management Handbook
- Langham Court Theatre, Stage Management Handbook